Colombian intelligence service wiretapped journalists

New York, February 25, 2009--The illegal
wiretapping of prominent Colombian journalists endangers their work and
compromises their confidential sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists
said today.

In its Saturday edition, the leading
newsweekly Semana revealed that agents
of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), the national intelligence
service, had spied on critical reporters, Supreme Court judges, opposition
politicians, and officials in President Alvaro Uribe's administration.

"We call on Colombian authorities to
conduct an exhaustive investigation and bring all those responsible to
justice," said CPJ Americas Senior Program Coordinator Carlos Lauría.

Citing five unnamed DAS agents, the
magazine said that rogue intelligence officials had monitored and intercepted thousands
of e-mails and telephone calls at the end of 2008. The information obtained, Semana said, could have been passed on
to criminal groups who have allegedly infiltrated the spy agency. The
newsweekly said that the recordings were being destroyed as of the beginning of
January.

The magazine identified six well-known
journalists among the group of people spied on: Semana's director Alejandro Santos; the director of W Radio, Julio
Sánchez Cristo; Caracol Radio's director Darío Arizmendi; Ramiro Bejarano, a
columnist for the daily El Espectador;
Félix de Bedout with W Radio, and Daniel Coronell, news director of TV network
Canal Uno and a columnist for Semana. Coronell is one of Uribe's harshest critics.

On Sunday, Attorney General Mario
Iguarán ordered a search of DAS headquarters and assigned two prosecutors to
probe the agency, according to local and international news reports. Uribe said
he didn't order the wiretaps, which he blamed on a "mafia gang" within the
intelligence service, according to news reports. The DAS, which reports
directly to the Colombian president, has been plagued by scandals throughout
Uribe's time in office, the reports said.

"We are dismayed that President
Uribe, who prides himself on having a firm grasp on the institutions of Colombia,
would acknowledge that a spy agency that reports to him is running amok," said
Lauría. "The DAS must be reformed to ensure that it acts within the law."

Since the scandal broke, three top
DAS officials have resigned, the agency said in a statement. The department
didn't provide any explanation for their departures.Its director resigned four months ago after admitting
that agents spied on opposition leaders.